Lookin' good.

Those who know me, know me as a generally civilized man who nevertheless is not famous for dressing neatly, and who views shaving as some kind of illuminati plot, and avoids the practice as a matter of course.

Regardez, then, the one time when I have been better dressed than I ever shall be again.


I was in the wedding party for a bloke who is like a brother, and he honoured me by asking me if I'd be in the wedding party. I obliged, and was lucky to have a front row seat when the good man married a good woman in sight of the gods, perched on a cliff with an awesome view of the South Shore of Nova Scotia.

Figured no one would believe I could look that civilized, so here's pictographic evidence. Enjoy.

Mud fest!

Needless to say, I've had a long time to make peace with the fact I'm up to my neck in redneck country.

Driving home that fact was a recent weekend assignment that saw said rednecks up to their necks in something else.

Behold: Mudfest.


Dozens of these fine folks signed up for what can best be described as the four-wheeler Olympics, with an added dash of the totally non-sexy type of mud wrestling (i.e.: With ATVs, not bikini-clad spring-breakers).

No such bout would be complete without the wheelie competition, of which the gentleman below was the obvious master.


Dirt bikes, too. They had those, because when your event involves sunburnt rural dwellers mucking about with ATVs, there's logical steps that must be taken.

Besides, they were pretty damned good.



The mounds and police tape they're leaping so spectacularly over is part of the main mud-fest course. After the boring stuff like high-speed races and righteous wheelies, there was still the obstacle course, including a big long stretch where contestants had to drive their machines through a long mud trench.


It was man versus mud, a titanic battle of wills and wits that saw some claim immortal victory, while others sputtered into bogged-down impotence, or flirted with it anyway.


Note what it says on his shirt. I swear, if you're putting one of these on, at least be able to stay on your own damned machine.

Still, he made it, in time for the grand finale.

The first picture in this set is from one courageous ATVer who had the balls to brave the Great Mud Pit. But, you see, the good people of the Miramichi are kind, upstanding folk who value the future, and see the young'uns of the community as the generation that will carry their banner into said future.

So they let the kids have a go at the Pit first. Before testing it was the right depth, of course.


"Yep. She's good. Nice and toasty, too."

And then, kids being kids, and with an organizer waving an enticing $20 on the other side, it was full speed ahead.


And damn right. As I watched the carnival of mud splashes, I laughed at the rubes I find myself trapped with.

And, at the back of my head, tucked away somewhere, was the faint feeling that, somehow, my childhood had been missing a few things.

Like a mud bog.